Cylinder anti-roll/slide safety device

ABSTRACT

An article of manufacture is disclosed comprising a circular or nearly circular elastic band of suitable diameter, length, depth and width, and at least one foot integrated onto the elastic band. Also disclosed is the foot releasably attached to said elastic band via a means for attaching. Also disclosed is the foot further comprising an aperture in said foot. Also disclosed is the foot further comprising a means for connecting in said foot. Also disclosed is a means for interlocking attached to the means for connecting in said foot, either permanently or releasably attached to said foot.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Nonprovisional Application for Patent incorporates by reference (tothe extent it does not conflict with the disclosure herein) and claimsthe benefit and priority of pending Provisional Application having Ser.No. 61/010,168 filed Jan. 4, 2008 entitled “Cylinder Anti-Roll/SlideDevice,” commonly owned with the instant Application.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this Patent document, including thedrawings and Appendices, contain material which is subject to copyrightprotection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the Patent document or the Patent disclosureas it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office Patent files orrecords, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Versions and embodiments of the present invention relate generally todevices for cylinders. More particularly, versions of the inventionrelate to cylinders used to contain gases under pressure. Specifically,a version of the invention relates to a scuba tank cylinder (air tank)anti-roll and/or anti-slide safety device and new, useful and unobviousversions thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

As is well understood by one skilled in the art, for many years thetraditional method for transporting scuba tanks (and other similar typetanks) in cars, truck, boats and other vehicles has been to simply stackthem next to each other and/or put towels between the scuba tanks toprevent them from rolling and/or hitting each other. For instance,sometimes scuba tanks are transported in the bed of a pick-up truck ortrunk of a car, especially for recreation scuba divers that are notprofessionals. The traditional transportation device (or lack thereof)has disadvantages, especially when in moving vehicles that may makeemergency stops from hitting the brakes to avoid a collision or involvedin a crash with a stationary object or other vehicle. First of all, theheavy tanks (usually made of steel or aluminum) become flyingprojectiles from the pick-up truck bed or trunk of a car that may causedamage and/or injuries to the occupants.

Secondly, these tanks have valves attached to the top to allow thecompressed air (or other gases) to be dispersed in a controlled manner;if a transportation accident causes this valve to be severed from thetank, the rapidly escaping gas essentially makes the tank act as arocket with potential deadly consequences. Additionally, the tanks maybump and/or collide with each other in the vehicle while moving, causingcosmetic blemishes on the tanks.

What is needed today for safe transportation of cylinders in movingvehicles is a anti-roll/anti-skid device to prevent rolling, slidingand/or bumping of the cylinders either alone or among multiple tanks.This new, useful and unobvious “Cylinder Anti-Roll/Slide Safety Device”solves this need. Versions of the invention utilize a band that isplaced around the tank(s).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present versions of the invention address at least one, some or allof the above-referenced needs in the art by providing new, useful andunobvious devices in versions of the invention for anti-roll andanti-slide features for use with cylinders.

The preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes soft, flexible rubberor rubber-like material. Other embodiments may use rigid, semi-rigidand/or flexible materials of various elasticity, depending on the user'sdesires, need or type use.

Benefits, features and problems solved by versions of the inventioninclude these objects/advantages: It is an object and/or advantage ofversions of the invention to prevent the scuba tanks form bumping (thedevice may also be called a “tank bumper”) and banging into one another.Another object and/or advantage is to allow versions to use soft rubberthat makes the article a non-slip product that serves as a anti-slipdevice. Another object and/or advantage is to allow versions of theinvention to have at least one foot molded into an elastic band ofsuitable width, length and thickness that prevents the tank form rollingon any flat surface. Another object and/or advantage is in otherversions the feet also serve to hold the tank next to it from rollingand interlocks a row of tanks together. Another object and/or advantageis to allow versions of the band to protect the tank from being damagedor chipped. Another object and/or advantage is to allow versions of thetank bumper to be thin enough as to not interfere in the strapping ofthe tank on to the buoyancy compensator. Another object and/or advantageis to allow versions of the band to hold and fit flush on to the backpack or buoyancy compensator flat by having the feet lie flat againstthe back pack. Another object and/or advantage is to allow versions touse soft non slip rubber prevent the tanks from sliding in the bed of apickup truck. Rolling is prevented due to the lateral movement but thesoft rubber prevents slipping of the tank along the length of thelongitudinal axis. Another object and/or advantage of versions of theinvention is it prevents the buoyancy compensator form slipping from theholder when used with scuba gear. At least one object and/or advantageis accomplished by at least one, some or all versions of the presentinvention.

The foregoing objects, benefits and advantages of versions of theinvention are illustrative of those which can be addressed by versionsof the invention and not intended to be limiting or exhaustive of thepossible advantages that can be realized. These and other advantageswill be apparent from the description herein or can be learned frompracticing versions of the invention, both as embodied herein asexamples or as modified in view of any variations which may be apparentto those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the invention residesin the novel devices, methods, arrangements, systems, combinations andimprovements herein shown and described as examples and not limitedtherein.

It is understood that the versions of the inventions are new methods,devices and systems for cylinder anti-roll/anti-slide safety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages andobjects of the invention are obtained, a more particular description ofthe invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference tospecific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appendeddrawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typicalembodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered tobe limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explainedwith additional specificity and detail through the use of theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a section view of a version of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial section bottom view of another embodiment of theinvention and releasably attached feet.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a section view of an embodiment of the invention.

While the present invention will be described with reference to thedetails of the embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings (andsome embodiments not shown in the drawings), these details are notintended to limit the scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The core of the version of the preferred embodiment of the invention isdepicted in FIG. 4. The dimensions shown are for illustration andexample only, as the device is scalable to any desired and/or suitablesize.

It is also understood that whenever and/or is used in this patentapplication it means any combination or permutation of all, one, some, aplurality or none of each of the item or list mentioned, which is notintended to be limiting but merely for example and illustration. It isalso understood that (s) designates either singular or plural. It isalso understood that that “or” is an inclusive “or” to include all itemsin a list and not intended to be limiting and means any combination orpermutation of all, one, some, a plurality or none of each of the itemor list mentioned. It is also understood that “including” means“including but not limited to” any combination or permutation of all,one, some, a plurality or none of each of the item or list mentioned.

The apparatus of the invention is conveniently fabricated in thepreferred embodiment by conventional and standard methods of forming,molding, injecting, heating, pressurizing, releasing and finishing inthe rubber and plastic fabrication and injection molding arts usingconventional and standard materials.

For example, versions of the invention and incorporated components maybe fabricated from aluminum, steel or other like metals or any othersuitable material as will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skillin the art. The present invention (or components of) may also befabricated in best mode from non-metallic materials for lighter weight,reduced cost and resistance to corrosion. These non-metallic materialsinclude, among others, conventional polymers such as, for example,polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyurethane, polyethylene, phenolformaldehyde resins, polybutylene, Teflon and the like.

Plastics (any one of a large and varied group of materials consistingwholly or in part of combinations of carbon with hydrogen, oxygen,nitrogen and other organic and inorganic elements; while solid in thefinished state, at some stage in its manufacture, it is made liquid, andthus capable of being formed into various shapes, usually through theapplication of heat and/or pressure), such as monomer (one unit—thebuilding block for polymer molecules) or polymer (many monomer unitsstrung together to make long molecules) used in polymerization (theprocess of combining short molecules to make long molecules) may beused.

Thermoplastics (plastics that can be repeatedly softened and hardened byheating and cooling) as well as Thermosets (plastics that arecross-linked during polymerization and cannot be softened withoutdegrading some linkages) may also be used.

Thermoplastic resin types such as crystalline (thermoplastics containingareas of dense molecular alignments known as crystallinity), amorphous(thermoplastics with no crystallinity in the solid state), liquidcrystal polymers (LCPs) (stiff, rod-like structures organized in largeparalleled arrays in both melted and solid states) may also be used.

All components may be referenced in plural for convenience, as only atleast one of all components are necessary, if desired, for properoperation and use in other embodiments. Ideally, all components (or somecomponents) are injection molded from non-metallic materials (plasticand/or rubber, including natural and/or synthetic rubber and/orrubber-like compositions) as previously mentioned above.

The components may be attached, connected, linked, related, affixed,disposed on, integrated into, adjoined, combined, bonded, united,associated, joined, tied, secured, bound, rigidly attached, flexiblyattached, attached with rotational freedom in at one least axis, and/orintegrated onto each other as desired by the operator.

To make the invention in its preferred embodiment, one skilled in theart would assemble and/or fabricate, for example, the main componentcomprising an elastic band 1. Then at least one foot 2 may be integratedinto the band when fabricated (using molds) or releasably attached tothe band via an attachment means 4. The attachment means may be of anysuitable type—loop, aperture, glue, sewn, webbing, fastener, screw,bolt, weld, connector link, grommet, snap, rivet, thread, rope, twine,rod, dowel, hook, plug, connector, and/or any other means, eitherattached/secured permanently, temporarily and/or releasably attached.

Another version may use apertures 3 or other connection means 3 for usewith a cord to thread through the at least one foot of the device, asshown in FIG. 6. The connection means may be of any suitable type—loop,aperture, glue, sewn, webbing, fastener, screw, bolt, weld, connectorlink, grommet, snap, rivet, thread, rope, twine, rod, dowel, hook, plug,connector, and/or any other means, either attached/secured permanently,temporarily and/or releasably attached.

For example, a hole drilled through the foot of the device in oneversion of the device allows extra products to be attached to thecylinders. This might be used in the case of needing extra spear shaftswhen using Hawaiian Slings, & or lineless spear shafts. The holes wouldbe used as a spare holders for extra shafts if the diver loses the spearhe shot at the fish, allowing the diver to maintain his dive with outsurfacing to reclaim another spear shaft. 1 or 2 sears shafts can becarried and are out of the way located on the back of the cylinder.

Additionally, the holes (or other type attachment means) drilled intothe foot allows a stretchable bungee to be secured between 2 or moreversions of the device. This will allow the cylinders to be lockedtogether either by using a insert-able interlocking device such as shownon the attachment or by using any device with hooks to lock and orstretch around the cylinder that can then be hooked into the holes. Thecord or bungee that is hooked between the devices will hold thecylinders in place regardless where they are located. The cord can behooked into the foot and then be locked to a stationary device such asthe boat or dock. This means for interlocking 5 may comprise a bungee,cord, connector link, thread, rope, twine, rod, dowel, wire, connector,and/or any other means, either attached/secured permanently, temporarilyand/or releasably attached.

To use the invention in this embodiment, particularly with a scuba tank,the operator would stretch and place/slide the device around the scubatank (or any other type tank) from either the top or bottom end of thetank to the desired location. To remove the device, the above procedurewould be reversed; grasp the band (or feet on the band) and stretch andplace/slide the band off from the tank top or bottom.

The above-referenced lists, options, functions, instructions,applications, interactions, items, products, goods, groups andsub-groups are merely intended as illustration and examples, and are notintended by the inventor to in any way limit the addition, deletion ormodification of any said lists, options, functions, instructions,commands, applications, interactions, items, products, goods, groups andsub-groups as might be desirable or useful to someone skilled in theart. All components of the above-mentioned system are well known in theart.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, such as a person inthe plastic and/or rubber injection molding industry, scuba geardesigner, compressed gas tank designer or other similar-typeindividuals, various modifications and adaptations of the structure andmethod of use above-described will become readily apparent withoutdeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of whichis defined in the claims. Although the foregoing invention has beendescribed in detail by way of illustration and example, it will beunderstood that the present invention is not limited to the particulardescription and specific embodiments described but may comprise anycombination of the above elements and variations thereof, many of whichwill be obvious to those skilled in the art. Additionally, the acts andactions of fabricating, assembling, using, and maintaining the preferredembodiment of this invention is well known by those skilled in the art.The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theclaims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes whichcome within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims aretherefore intended to be embraced therein.

An article of manufacture for use with scuba tanks, comprising:

1) A circular or nearly circular elastic band of suitable diameter,length, depth and width, and; at least one foot integrated onto theelastic band. 2) The article of claim 1 further comprising the footreleasably attached to said elastic band via a means for attaching. 3)The article of claim 1 further comprising the foot further comprising anaperture in said foot. 4) The article of claim 1 further comprising thefoot further comprising a means for connecting in said foot. 5) Thearticle of claim 4 further comprising a means for interlocking attachedto the means for connecting in said foot. 6) The article of claim 5further comprising a means for interlocking releasably attached to themeans for connecting in said foot. 7) The article of claim 4 furthercomprising extra products in communication with the means for connectingin said foot. 8) The article of claim 4 further comprising extraproducts in releasable communication with the means for connecting insaid foot.